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An explosion at a mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota, early Saturday morning has authorities investigating and local residents – especially those who are Muslim – feeling fearful.
Federal authorities determined an improvised explosive device was used in the blast that occurred at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center around 5 a.m.
No one was injured, but the blast left the building with fire and smoke damage.
“This could have been very big and very damaging,” said Asad Zaman with the Muslim American Society of Minnesota.
Kamal Hassan, who dropped his son off at the mosque the morning of the blast, said Islamophobia is becoming mainstream and every Muslims is worried about violence. The act has not been deemed a hate crime at this time, but worshippers indicated they believe it was.
Zaman said the center has been targeted for a number of incidents in the past few months, but within hours of the blast, local residents had rallied around worshippers to show their support.
“Targeting people because of their race, ethnicity or religion is absolutely un-American,” Zaman said.
The Muslim American Society of Minnesota and the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations are offering a collective reward of $20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the blast.
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